Images of the Sun taken by NASA on Saturday, Oct. 10 reveals that its top layer features a hole big enough to fit 50 Earths. The hole is currently unleashing solar winds at incredible speed towards the Earth.

Scientists said that the solar winds will not pose any danger to people. However, satellite and radio communications will likely be interrupted if they are hit.

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The Solar Dynamics Observatory was able to take the Sun's images using ultraviolet wavelength, which is invisible to the human eye.

Scientists usually use the terms dark spot or coronal hole to describe the phenomenon.

The event occurs on the lower polar region of the sun every 11 years at its lowest activity period. The dark spot is less hotter and its density is low compare to its surrounding area. It is at this stage that more solar winds can escape from the Sun's magnetic field.

In the mid 19^th century, Richard Carrington, an astronomer from England, was able to watch a super solar storm unfolding. No subsequent solar storms has surpassed the one witnessed by Carrington either in intensity or magnitude. Astronomers credited the English astronomer by naming it as the Carrington Event or Flare.

The Carrington Flare allowed people in Spain and the Caribbeans to witness auroras for the first time. The Americans and Europeans, however, may have been inconvenienced by the solar storm as it was responsible for the loss of electricity and fires at numerous telegraph stations at that time.

Scientists have also devised a more accurate method of detecting solar winds or storms by observing the signs in the Earth's magnetic field known as SYM-H. The calculation will require the cooperation of several astronomy institutes and at least a minute worth of the image.

Astronomy observers said that the dark spot is still ongoing and will produce stronger solar winds. People in the United States will be able to witness auroras during the evenings.

Auroras are usually caused by solar winds and ejection of particles outside the sun. NASA physicists Leila Mays say that such occurrence appears to be part of the normal activity of the sun.

Tagssolar wind, solar storm, NASA sun image, sun dark spot, coronal hole, coronal mass ejections, dark hole, carrington flare, carrington event, sym-h method